


If Only We Could Be Fireproof

by Smokeycut



Series: Cassandra Cain Adoption Fics [4]
Category: Batman - Fandom
Genre: Adoption, Cass gets the love and care she deserves, Elseworld - Canon Divergence, Moving On, Recovery, discussions of Clayface's death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-25
Updated: 2018-03-17
Packaged: 2019-03-09 04:34:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13473798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Smokeycut/pseuds/Smokeycut
Summary: Cassandra and Victoria are sent reeling after Clayface's death, and Bruce doesn't know if he even deserves to be there for them. But they'll be there for each other.





	1. Moving On

"How is she holding up?"

Victoria sighed in response, and looked at her charge. Cassandra was curled up on the couch in Victoria's apartment, her knees pulled up to her chest and her head tucked into the space between them. She was far from okay. And who on Earth could blame her? With her ability? With what she had seen?

"How do you think?" Victoria asked, a sense of tiredness, of emptiness, weighing her voice down. 

If there was a way for Cassandra to somehow fold in on herself and exit reality, she was doing her damnedest to figure it out. Her tears stung at her eyes, and as they rolled down her cheeks they left a trail that was raw and sore. Ragged sobs poured from her dry throat, forced out by a bellowing chest. She had been this way for hours. The only reaction that Victoria had managed to get out of her was a small nod when she asked if Cassandra would oppose her speaking to Bruce for a short while, leaving her side to do so.

"I'm going to deal with the situation here," Bruce told her. "Let her know that she can take as much time to herself as she needs. Ever since Shiva showed up, it's like her whole life is crashing down around her. I don't know what to do for her, but..."

"She needs a _home_ , Bruce. A _family_. Bas- He and I had talked about taking her in, once or twice. But you've got more experience than I do. The last thing I want to do is force this on you, but..." Victoria trailed off, the implication obvious. For his part, Bruce could see how much the situation was hurting her as well. She could hardly even bring herself to say Basil's name. Whether it was for Cassandra's sake or her own, it didn't really matter. A combination of the two was most likely, Bruce thought. But there were other things on his mind as well. Things like his own sense of guilt.

"I'm sorry, Victoria. If I felt at all that I could, or that I even should, I would bring her into my home without a moment of hesitation. But I've screwed up too much to be the one who cares for her. She came to me years ago, and I didn't do anything to help her then. When she came back to Gotham, and then when she lost her mother... I had so many chances to care for her, but I never did. I wasn't there for her then, and at this point, I don't think I deserve another chance."

"Then who? She needs _someone_ , Bruce." Victoria wiped a few tears from her own eyes as she spoke, trying to maintain a modicum of strength, of stability. But it wasn't an effort she could keep up forever. She was wearing down more and more with each passing moment, and they all knew it. 

"She needs you, Victoria."

All she could do was nod weakly before she ended the call. Before she walked back to the couch and collapsed next to Cassandra. Before she held the teenaged girl in her arms and whispered to her that it would be okay, that _they_ would be okay.

They both wished that that was true.

**********

Two weeks passed, and Cassandra didn't leave the apartment once in that time. Harper and Stephanie came and went, doing what they could to make her days brighter. They tried to get her to smile, and Victoria watched from afar as they talked to her, told jokes, held her, did their best to distract her. Again and again and again. Sometimes it worked. Only sometimes.

Her old armor wasn't worn once in that time. Victoria didn't see what Cassandra had done with it, but the last time she saw it, there were still flecks of mud on it. Pieces of... pieces of him. A part of her didn't want to know where the armor had gone. The only piece she saw of it was the mask, with the mouth messily stitched shut. Cassandra had taken up residence in the guest bedroom, but she didn't always remember to turn off her light when she went to bed. And so, one night, when Victoria went in to turn them off and make sure Cassandra was tucked in and warm, she saw the mask. Cassandra was curled up, still awake, pulling it down over her face. She was shaking, and not from cold. 

Victoria knew anxiety all too well, and she knew coping. She didn't ask Cassandra how the mask helped with the anxiety attacks, but she told her that it was alright that it did. So long as it helped ease the worry. Cassandra had hugged Victoria tight that night, before promising to get some sleep. But she never did see the rest of the armor.

Another week passed by before Bruce stopped by for a visit. He passed some paperwork along to Victoria when he entered, and he sat with Cassandra for some time. Not once did he bring up Basil, or Kate, or anything even remotely related to vigilanteism. Victoria invited him to eat dinner with them. They were having Cassandra's favorite curry, and Cass wanted him to try it. He couldn't possibly refuse.

When he left, he whispered one more apology to Victoria for not being able to prevent what had happened. She shushed him, and told him that it wasn't his fault. He looked to Cassandra, who was sitting at the kitchen table still, drumming her fingers against the wrist of her other hand. They bid farewell to one another, and after he left, Victoria joined Cassandra at the table.

"He... has kids," Cassandra said. 

"He does," Victoria said in turn. "That's actually a part of why he came over here today. He and I have spoken about adoption recently."

"Adoption?" Cassandra asked, a faint sense of hope in her voice. "Is he..."

And that was what Victoria had feared. She knew, and Bruce did as well, that Cassandra had dreams of becoming a part of his family. Just like Tim had, and Duke, and Dick and Jason. Victoria was afraid of getting her hopes up only to cut them down. But Cassandra needed to know.

"I'm sorry, dear. He... He doesn't think he deserves to have you as his child," Victoria explained. "He thinks he's failed you one time too many. But he got ahold of some adoption papers, and today he gave them to me." Victoria took a deep breath, and held Cassandra's hands in her own. "If you wouldn't terribly mind, Cassandra... I would like to welcome you as a part of _my_ family. Even if it's just the two of us now, I... I want you to be loved, and cared for. You deserve that much."

Cassandra said nothing in response. She didn't need to. She stood from her chair, stepped closer to Victoria, and pulled the older woman into a hug. They held each other in silence, a warm and blissful silence. And in that moment, they weren't by themselves. They felt him there, a memory of him that they kept in their hearts. If Basil had been there, if things had been different, he would have been loud enough for the both of them. And if he could see them, they knew he would be happy for Cassandra, and happy for Victoria. He would be overjoyed to see Cassandra start the first step towards the normal life she deserved. Overjoyed to see Victoria standing on solid ground once again. Overjoyed to see them _smile_.

**********

Cassandra was enrolled in Gotham Academy by the end of the week, on Bruce's recommendation. Victoria could tell he still felt guilty about not taking Cassandra in himself, and that this was his way of making up for it. A promise to pay for her tuition and school supplies, making sure that she could get into a good program for students with special needs. He had promised Cassandra a normal life, once upon a time. She had turned him down at the time, but now she happily accepted the offer. But a part of her couldn't leave heroism behind, not for any longer than the weeks that had passed. 

The night that the adoption became official was a cause for celebration. Harper, Cullen and Stephanie visited early in the day, and others came and went throughout it. All of them wished Cassandra the best, but still wondered. Nobody knew when she would come back, when they'd see her passing by on nightly patrols. They knew as well as she did that she couldn't just leave it behind. It just wasn't something she could do. She needed to balance the scales, even if nobody else thought it was necessary. She still did. 

It was only after they had all left that Cassandra told Victoria about her plans to return to her nightly duties. She wanted to balance it with her new life, the way everyone else did. But she didn't want to do it the way she had been.

And so she brought out the armor, and laid it down on the living room floor. Flecks of clay had long hardened onto it, and it showed signs of other damage as well. Chipped paint, ripped metal, a broken buckle. Signs of wear that made it seem as though she'd been fighting crime for decades, rather than months. 

"No more," Cassandra whispered to her new mother. "No more Orphan." She placed a hand on the chest piece of her worn armor, feeling the cool metal.

Victoria nodded, and placed her own hand on top of Cassandra's.

"Then who will you be?" She asked.

"Bat. Black Bat."

**********

The new armor fit the name. Pieces of silver metal adorned her forearms, shoulders, shins and chest. She wore a long black scarf that trailed behind her, not unlike a cape. White and gold belts wrapped around her belly, and her hair was worn freely. On her chest, painted on the silver breastplate, was the outline of a bat. Black lines against a canvas of silver.

She had found a new life, a family at long last. It was small, just a mother and her daughter, but it was built on a foundation of love and hope. Solid ground at last for her to walk on. She still missed her friend, and Victoria missed her partner, but they would live on. Cassandra would prove that he was right when he said she was a hero, that she wasn't a villain like others had tried to force her to be. She was so much more than that, and Victoria couldn't be more proud to see it.

She was a black bat who flew in the moonlight. Something dark that had a soul brighter than any other.


	2. New Life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I felt like adding a bit more to this story, so here! Whether it's a second chapter, a sequel, or an epilogue, or whatever. It's Cass being happy, and Dr October being a mom.

Cassandra stared at her reflection in her bedroom mirror, taking in the sight of it all. Her Black Bat armor was shiny and newly polished, which was sorely needed after her recent clash with The First Victim. The red goo from their costume got everywhere, and was a pain to get rid of. Worth it though, she thought. The minute that they had turned up in Monster Town, she went to take them down. Hard, fast, and not at all light handed in her methods. After what they and their cohorts did to Basil... she wasn't willing to show The Victim Syndicate much kindness.

But the polish on the silver portions of her armor wasn't what drew her eye. Neither did the large bat symbol outline on her chest. No, it was her hair. Most of it was the same as always. Jet black, and kept in a pixie cut. With a recent addition of a bold white streak that was parted to the side. 

Red Hood had been the first to see it, outside of those involved in the streak's creation, during a run-in with him earlier that day. He thought, for some odd reason, that it was a nod to him. She didn't correct that notion, but she couldn't tell him that he was right either. At the moment, only Harper and Stephanie knew why and how Cassandra had gained it.

Cassandra had been at Harper's apartment, and found herself thinking about Harper's blue and purple undercut while the trio shared a pizza. It was partly a celebration of Cassandra's new identity, and partly just them trying to get together and relax after too many months of chaos and disruption and painful events. Life had settled down, but Cassandra wanted to make one last change. She had asked Harper if she could get her own hair dyed, which led to a trip to the store, which led to the creation of a particular white streak.

But she still hadn't shown it to the person who had inspired it. Cassandra was anxious, terrified of accidentally offending her with the decision. She still wasn't entirely sure of the boundaries in her new living situation, of what was and wasn't okay. She had never had a home with another person before, aside from the nights she'd spend at Harper's place on occasion. And that wasn't nearly the same as living with a woman who was, legally speaking, her mother. Her train of thought was broken by the sound of someone entering through the apartment's front door.

"Cassandra? If you're here, let me know! Otherwise I'm going to assume you're out assaulting clowns," Victoria called out. "If you _are_ here, I'm enlisting you to help me with the packing. We've got two more days to finish before we move. Of course, I could just be talking to air and sounding like a madwoman..."

"I'm here," Cassandra said, before taking a deep breath and stepping out of her room. When she joined Victoria in the living room, she avoided eye contact, but still glanced at Victoria to see her reaction to the hair situation.

Mild shock. Curiosity. Pride. Her body language settled on pride, which became all the more apparent when Victoria crossed the room to hug Cassandra. 

"I was only gone for a day, so I assume you haven't died and been brought back to life," Victoria said with a small laugh.

"No. Hair dye. Harper and Steph helped," Cassandra explained. "Was going to patrol. But, will help pack. Patrol later?"

"That's fine. Just remember to get some rest tonight, okay? We have tea scheduled for tomorrow, and I'd rather you not fall asleep on your plate," Victoria said, handing Cassandra an empty box labelled "Clothing / Cassandra"

Cassandra let loose a small chuckle as she took the box and headed back to her bedroom. It was only her room for a short time, but in that time, it felt more like home than her space above the theater ever had. She hoped that her new home would be even more of a comfort. 

••••••••••

"How are you and Cassandra doing?" Bruce asked over the phone. 

"We're doing quite well, all things considered," Victoria told him as she took a seat at the open air café, across from her adopted daughter. Victoria wore a black dress, as per usual, with a white shawl draped over her shoulders in place of her typical lab coat. Cassandra was sipping at a cup of Assam tea, wearing a pale yellow sundress with a flower pattern. She looked around at all of the other people, watching them with interest. Taking in all the little details that most people wouldn't notice. 

"Good. I hope that your move goes well. I've given Cassandra the next few days off so that she can get acclimated to the new surroundings and settle in," Bruce said on the other end of the line. "She was eager to show me her new hair while on patrol last night. I assume you're partially responsible for it?" 

"I can only take credit for it's inspiration, not it's creation. You have Ms. Row and Ms. Brown to blame for that," Victoria said with a smirk. "Now then, I'm afraid I must go. It's a bit rude to ignore the person I'm sharing tea with. Adieu, Mr. Wayne."

Victoria slipped her phone into her clutch, and turned her attention to Cassandra. "Now then, how _was_ your patrol last night, my dear?" She asked in a mock posh accent, tilting her head up and giving her best impression of a snooty Gotham socialite. 

Cassandra laughed into her hand, and then mirrored the expression for a moment before responding. "Was good. No, um, villains. But lots of.... other stuff," she said. "Gangs and killers."

"And I'm certain that Gotham rests easier knowing that Black Bat is on the case," Victoria told her. "The name does leave me scratching my head a bit though, I must admit."

"It's... the bat. The symbol. Means something." Cassandra explained. "I told him... that's what I'm, um... _loyal_ to." She took another sip of her tea, and smiled as she set it back down. "It's special. I want to... show that."

"In that case, it couldn't fit anyone better than you," Victoria said. "Though I hope you're ready for these next few nights off. Bruce has assured me that if you try to sneak out and join him on patrol, he'll just send you right back home to make sure you settle in properly."

"I can just... not let him, um, see me," Cassandra joked. 

"Ah, but I've got recordings of some old ballets that desperately need to be watched. And I'm not quite sure I get the nuance of them all..."

"I won't sneak out," Cassandra told Victoria. "Promise."

"Good. You'll have plenty of nights to do so afterwards, anyways." 

Victoria smiled into her tea as she took another sip. She didn't dare spoil the surprise waiting for Cassandra until after they had finished moving to their new home.

••••••••••

A few days later, in the early afternoon, Victoria pulled her car up to the new place. It was a decently sized house towards the edge of Gotham, closer to the suburbs than their old apartment by Monster Town. It was the kind of home you'd expect a mad scientist to own, painted all black and grey, and likely dating back to the nineteen forties. Cassandra loved it the moment she set her eyes on it.

They brought their last few boxes inside, the majority of their things having already been taken in that morning by the moving company. They would spend the rest of the day unpacking boxes of clothing, research equipment, cooking ware, dishes, and all their other various possessions. 

When Cassandra went to her new room to set about putting away her things, she found herself marveling at it. It was bigger than any room she'd had before, with a large window on the far wall that showed their backyard. There was a full length mirror standing beside her closet, and altogether it reminded her almost of the bedrooms in Wayne Manor. The ways that it was different though, those stood out just as much, if not more. Different colors, different trims, all of them less ancient than anything from Wayne Manor. Minor details, but to Cassandra they may as well have had fluorescent orange arrows pointing them out. She liked them though. They made it all feel more like her own. 

Victoria spent that time setting up her lab, in the basement. She already had one back in Monster Town, and another in the Batcave, but a woman could never have too many. When everything was in it's proper place, she went back up to the kitchen, where she had left a silver case on the table. She grabbed it and brought it back down to her lab, and there she opened it. Inside was a set of vials, each filled with a different substance. Blood samples from different monsters, mostly. Doomsday, Scarebeast, Hugo Strange's Monster Men, among a few others. But in the very middle was a vial of something else. It was filled to the halfway point with clay. All that was left of Basil, really. Inert, completely useless, as her analysis would show. But still, she wanted to keep it with the rest of her samples. Just in case. She slipped the case into a locked floor safe before leaving the lab, and heading back upstairs to check on Cassandra, and lend her a hand if needed.

She found Cassandra putting away her ballet slippers with a smile on her face. When Victoria had first told Cassandra that they'd be moving, she also told her that she had spoken to Christine Montclair about setting up proper ballet lessons. Cassandra's ability allowed her to progress far faster than any normal person, but she still cherished the chance to learn from Christine. She had had a few lessons before the move, and looked forward to all of the ones that would follow it.

"Done," Cassandra said as she put them away. "What now?" She asked, looking at her adoptive mother. 

"One last part of the house to show you. I have a feeling you'll like this one," Victoria told her with a smirk. 

She led Cassandra back down towards the lab. Three walls of the room were in use, with tables or shelves or machines pressed up against them. One though, on the far side of the room, was left bare. The only noticeable feature was a keypad set into the wall. Victoria typed in the sequence for Cassandra to see, and when she pressed the "enter" button, there was a small beep. With that tone, the wall split down the middle, and the two halves slid apart, revealing another room beyond it. 

"Batman offered to have it built alongside my lab, and I just couldn't refuse." She watched as Cassandra stepped into the room and looked around.

There were several training dummies and mats, a glass case with Cassandra's old costume inside of it, and a computer on the wall. Voice activated, of course. A batcycle was parked facing a tunnel, which led back into the city. In the center of the room was a metal pole, which led up into the ceiling. Cassandra's eyes followed it up, and she saw that there was a hole in the ceiling where the pole continued to reach upwards. 

"There's a false wall at the back of your bedroom closet, so you don't have to go through the lab to get here." Victoria told Cass, resting a hand on her shoulder. "And don't worry, I won't come barging in here without asking first. I know how important it is to have some privacy. This is yours, Cassandra."

Cassandra turned around and wrapped her arms around Victoria tight, trapping her in a hug. For the first time in her life, she felt like she was truly standing on solid ground. Like she was somewhere she truly belonged. She didn't miss Basil as much, and she didn't think about her biological parents as often. She had so much more to think about, so much more to focus on. Going to school, and spending time with her friends, and visiting Wayne Manor, and ballet lessons, and tea with Victoria, and her nights as Black Bat. She felt like she wasn't alone anymore. Like she wasn't vulnerable or dangerous or some bad thing to be dealt with.

She felt fireproof.


End file.
